These easy chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting are made with Dutch-processed cocoa powder for an intense chocolate flavor and frosted with a simple vanilla buttercream frosting that’s good enough to eat from the bowl.
These un-fancy yet totally delicious chocolate cupcakes are so soft and fluffy. Instead of doing chocolate on chocolate like these chocolate ganache cupcakes, I paired them with my not-too-sweet vanilla buttercream frosting.
Many of my chocolate cupcakes have coffee in the ingredient list to enhance the chocolate flavor, but I developed this recipe specifically not to use coffee without compromising on that chocolaty flavor.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- The cupcakes themselves are super easy to make, and you can whip up the batter with just a mixing bowl and a whisk.
- The frosting is not-too-sweet and also very easy to make with the help of a stand mixer or an electric mixer.
- You can easily swap out different frostings to create an entirely new cupcake that’s guaranteed to be delicious.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips for each ingredient:
- Flour – all-purpose flour is all you need here.
- Cocoa powder – I used half natural cocoa powder and half Dutch-processed in this recipe. If you want to use just one type of cocoa powder, I recommend Dutch-processed cocoa for the darker color cake and a richer chocolate flavor.
- Sugar – you only need granulated sugar for the cake, but you can use brown sugar if you’d like to add flavor depth and additional moisture to these cupcakes.
- Leavening agents – I use both baking soda and baking powder. The baking soda will be activated by the acidity in the buttermilk. And the baking powder will give it additional lift in the hot oven.
- Salt – I always use kosher salt in all my recipes. If using table salt, use about half to two thirds as much.
- Buttermilk – I used reduced fat buttermilk. You can use any type of buttermilk you can find at the grocery store. Or make your own buttermilk by adding lemon juice, yogurt, or sour cream to regular milk.
- Oil – Butter adds flavor to cakes but oil makes them ultra moist. I always use a flavorless oil like vegetable oil or canola oil, but olive oil will work too. I do love a velvety olive oil chocolate cake!
- Egg – Just 1 egg is used to bind everything together.
- Vanilla – pure vanilla extract is used to enhance the flavor of the cupcakes and flavor the frosting. If you want to add specks of vanilla bean in the frosting like in the photos, you can use vanilla bean paste or seeds from half a vanilla bean.
- Butter – unsalted butter is used in the vanilla buttercream frosting. Make sure not to use salted butter or you’ll end up with super salty frosting.
- Powdered sugar – this is used to sweeten the frosting. I used the least amount of sugar possible in the frosting to make it a lot less sweet than your typical American buttercream frosting. You can increase the amount of sugar called for if you like your frosting a bit sweeter or to make it stiffer.
- Cream – this is used in the frosting to make it lighter and fluffier.
Tools you’ll need
You can make the cake batter entirely by hand, but there are a few special tools to streamline your baking process.
- A standard size muffin pan to bake the cupcakes in.
- A large cookie scoop to make dividing the cupcake batter super easy. The one I used is about ¼ cup.
- A or an electric mixer to make the frosting.
- A pastry bag and an open star piping tip if you want to pipe the frosting.
- A kitchen scale is recommended to measure the ingredients.
How to make chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting
The following instructions, step by step photos and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Make the chocolate cake batter
First, mix together the dry ingredients including cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set this aside.
Next, prepare the wet ingredients by beating together buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl.
Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and fold until incorporated.
Divide batter among 12 cupcake cavities using a large cookie scoop or a ¼-cup measuring cup. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
Make the vanilla frosting
Add softened butter, cream, vanilla, and salt to a stand mixer bowl. Sift in the powdered sugar. Stir to incorporate the ingredients and slowly increase the mixer speed and beat until the frosting is fluffy.
Baker’s tips
- Don’t substitute ingredients unless I mentioned the substitutions under the ingredient section above.
- Don’t reduce the amount of sugar because this cupcake recipe has a lot of cocoa powder which has a drying effect and sugar keeps the cake moist as well as giving it the right amount of sweetness.
- The large cookie scoop will allow you to divide the batter evenly. Or use a ¼ cup size measuring cup.
- I used a pastry bag with a piping tip to frost the cupcakes but spreading the frosting with a spatula will work too if you don’t have equipment for the frosting.
- Butter for the frosting should be at room temperature but not too runny. If it’s a really hot day, and your butter starts to melt, your frosting might end up being a bit too soft to pipe right away. Just pop it in the fridge to set up a bit before frosting the cupcakes.
- Make sure your cupcakes are completely cool before frosting them.
Other frosting for chocolate cupcakes
I chose a simple vanilla buttercream for these cupcakes to showcase the chocolate flavor front and center. But they are the perfect base for so many wonderful frostings:
- Try a velvety Swiss meringue buttercream for a totally different take on these chocolate cupcakes with white frosting.
- Want something tangy? Opt for this cream cheese frosting!
- How about making a classic combination with a peanut butter frosting?
- Another amazing combination is strawberry and chocolate, try this strawberry cream cheese frosting with these cupcakes.
Storage
Room temperature: if you are planning to serve them the same day, you can leave them out on the countertop for the day if it is a cool day.
Refrigerator: Frosted cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator since the frosting is made with dairy products, and they will last 3-5 days.
Freezer: These chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting freeze very well and will last for up to three months. You can store them in an airtight container, or place them on a tray and freeze until the frosting hardens, then wrap them well and store in a freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight or on the counter for a couple of hours before serving.
FAQs
Absolutely! You’ll just need to bake it in two batches unless you have a convection oven which would be okay to bake two pans at once. For a regular oven, I don’t recommend packing the oven with both pans, it could affect the air flow and the cupcakes may not bake evenly.
Sure! You’ll probably end up with 2-3 dozen mini cupcakes. Just fill the mini cupcake liners to about ⅔ full and reduce baking time to about 11-12 minutes.
The cupcake batter can be made entirely by hand but the frosting will be easier to make with a stand mixer or an electric mixer. You could potentially make the frosting by hand but it will require a lot of elbow grease. I recommend at least investing in an affordable electric mixer for tasks like these.
Of course, you can make these 3-5 days ahead of time and refrigerate them. If you need to make them well ahead of time, freezing them can keep them for 3 months.
More chocolate cakes
- Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes
- Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
- Mini Chocolate Cake
- Mocha Cake
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📖 Recipe card
Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (170 g)
- ½ cup cocoa powder (half natural/half Dutch-processed, 54 g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (180 g)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk (231 g, room temperature)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (50 g)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vanilla Frosting
- 12 oz unsalted butter (3 sticks, 340 g, room temperature)
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar (150 g, sifted)
- 6 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract (substitute seeds from ½ a vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste)
- A big pinch of salt
Instructions
- Make the cake batter: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the salt and mix with a whisk to distribute evenly. Set aside.
- Add buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla extract to a medium bowl. Beat together with a whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredient mixture and fold until just combined.
- Use a large ice cream scoop to divide batter into the previously prepared muffin pan. One flat scoop of batter for each cupcake cavity, or about ¼ cup of batter each.
- Bake in the middle oven rack for 17-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to the touch, remove cupcakes from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the vanilla frosting: Add butter, cream, vanilla bean paste and salt to the stand mixer bowl. Sift in powdered sugar.
- Stir to incorporate all of the ingredients, then increase the mixer speed gradually to high and beat until the frosting is white and fluffy, about 5 -15 minutes.
Notes
- Vegetable oil, canola oil or olive oil will work in this recipe.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, use regular milk, sour cream, yogurt or make homemade buttermilk by mixing regular milk with lemon juice or sour cream/yogurt.
- If you’re using just one type of cocoa powder, I recommend Dutch-processed for the darker color and more intense flavor.
- Use a large cookie scoop, equivalent to ¼ cup, to evenly divide the cupcake batter.
- If you want specks of vanilla bean in the frosting, use seeds of ½ a vanilla bean or 1 ½ teaspoon of vanilla bean paste.
Nutrition
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Pip
Love this recipe! The chocolate cupcakes are so delicious and easy to make. The instructions are all super helpful to give you the best result.
Sue
Quick and good. I adjusted recipe slightly but I really like these cupcakes
Vicki
I always use your mini chocolate cake recipe for small cakes and cupcakes. Reading this recipe I noticed there is no melted butter and you’re using less oil, and a little more flour. I just wondered why the difference in the two recipes?
Trang Doan
Hi Vicki, for the mini cake, the batter is wetter with more butter/oil and less flour to create a flatter cake layer. My attempt in this recipe is to get a bit drier batter so the cupcake rises more with higher dome.
Kate
Can I not use the baking soda in this recipe?
Trang Doan
If you don’t use baking soda, increase the amount of baking powder. But usually baking soda is used to neutralize the acidic ingredients in the recipe, in this case, buttermilk. I wouldn’t change the recipe but if you just don’t have baking soda on hand, it’s fine to replace it with baking powder.
Caroline
Turned out wonderful. Yummy. Even my kids enjoyed with no frosting. Had to make seconds!
Trang
Wonderful Caroline!! I’m so happy to hear that the kids loved it 🙂
Barb
Turned out great. Tasted delicious. Thanks.
Trang
Thanks Barb! So glad to hear you enjoyed these 🙂
Maribeth
Hi !
I was just curious about the vinegar in the Swiss meringue , what does it do?
Thank you!!
Trang
Hi Maribeth, vinegar is an acid, and used to stabilize the egg white so it can hold its peak. You could also use cream of tartar or lemon juice.
Aleese
How does this compare to the double chocolate cupcakes? I noticed the differences in ingredients.
Trang
My intention for this basic chocolate cupcake is a simple recipe that just uses cocoa powder and nothing else. The double chocolate cupcakes has coffee in it, which enhances the chocolate flavor. They are comparable, but if you don’t want an extra step to brew coffee, use the basic recipe.
Aleese
Thanks. I made the double chocolate cupcakes countless times before and the kids loved it!
Trang
Awesome! Thank you so much for your feedback!
Marie
I love the contrast of the white buttercream to the intense dark chocolate cupcakes. They look super fluffy inside too.